Nomad - Captain America
by Kimichan13
Summary: Naruto is thrown into 1940's planet Earth for another adventure, thanks to Shinigami. Befriending Howard Stark and accidently joining the army but not at the same time, Naruto just takes it in stride. Part 3 of Naruto and Avengers series! High level-Journey man Naruto!
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own CA or N**

**Please read _Nomad - How it all began_ before reading this for better understanding of Naruto's situation.**

* * *

The sun was blistering down upon him. He could feel the heat, it didn't affect him but he could feel it. It certainly enjoyed making him uncomfortable. Naruto ran a hand through his red locks, careful not to touch the twitching fox ears perched on top of his head. He was draped in a simple plain black robe which didn't do much to stop the heat but at least it covered him. He couldn't master creating anything else with Dimension yet.

The element was as predictable as he was. Which meant not predictable at all. He was running faster than a car at the moment, but that was to just get out of the desert. He'd seen more deserts than he cared for in his elongated lifetime. Because you see, Naruto was an immortal half demon, cursed by Shinigami to travel continuously through dimensions, time and universes until he could control his strange new chakra. Once Naruto had balanced his chakra, he would be able to travel back to his home world, a world he had been torn away from more than five hundred years ago. Naruto never knew exactly when he was going to travel, but his phoenix tattoo on his left arm did give him some fair warning. When all six stones around his tattoo glowed gold, he would be forced to jump. Until then, Naruto planned to make the most of his time, even if it was in a desert. This desert wasn't as bad as some of the deserts he'd been exposed to. This one only had one sun. He shuddered when he remembered when he was only a novice at jumping and his 'vacation' had ended up being stuck on a planet that had had three suns and had been inhabited by cannibalistic creatures that came out when the suns went down.

That certainly hadn't been fun. He really should have been paying attention to where he was going as he ended up running straight into a man. Which must have hurt him, seeing as Naruto was running incredibly fast. Naruto would have apologised but the guy was unconscious. He used this to take a look at the man. Moustache. Rich clothes. ID said Howard Stark. Not that he was going through his pockets or anything. At least the ladies in the car didn't see him doing that.

What was this Stark guy doing out of the car anyway? Stark groaned loudly and opened his eyes blearily. "Man do you hit hard," he mumbled before taking Naruto's offered hand and getting to his feet.

He blinked at Naruto blearily and Naruto hastily put his hood up before he could spot his ears. "Why are you wearing the Grim Reaper's robes in the middle of a desert?" Stark asked rubbing his eyes before placing on his sunglasses.

Naruto blinked and looked down before shrugging. "Only thing I had."

"What's your name handsome?" one of the ladies asked as she stepped out of the car. Naruto blinked slightly but was rather unfazed. He was sort of used to woman throwing themselves at him these days.

"Naruto Suzaku," he answered with a slight bow of his head. Howard raised an eyebrow.

"You're Jap?" Naruto just stared at him dully but had to admit he didn't really look like a Japanese person as much as he used to. Hanyou blood did that to you. Stark turned back to the car. "I'll take that as a yes," he muttered before yelling over his shoulder, "You wanna ride Red?" Ignoring the nickname, Naruto slid in next him.

"You really shouldn't trust strangers," Naruto said as Stark started the engine. Stark smirked. "Well let's not be strangers much longer."

* * *

Naruto ended up becoming Stark's bodyguard, for lack of better words. He told Stark not to pay him (he didn't need money, he couldn't bring it with him) and just settled for a place to sleep for the night and some clothes. He'd been following Stark around for about a year before Stark was making his 'grand show' of his flying car in Brooklyn. "I bet it won't work," Naruto drawled, flipping the knife in his hand expertly as he leaned against the side of the stage. Despite Stark's pleas, he refused to use guns. Too noisy. He was an assassin, a ninja. Something he didn't really get when he was younger.

"You better not sabotage it," Stark warned as he checked it, just in case, fidgeting with this and that as he did so.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to sabotage your 'flying' car Stark. Besides, isn't flying cars a little too mainstream? Not to mention how dangerous it would be if your speech came true…" Naruto trailed off with a grimace.

Stark just looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean Red?" Naruto rolled his eyes and thought it better not to explain. He'd been to worlds where they had flying cars. The total number of crashes in a year had gone up by five hundred in the United States alone when they did so.

"Never mind. Show starts in two minutes," Naruto warned as he walked over to the place to pull the curtains. Stark hurriedly ran to the side and the ladies took their place at the cars. Rolling his eyes at what his life had come to, Naruto pulled the curtains. As Naruto pulled the curtains, out of habit he scanned the crowd for threats. Army person, girls, old people, girls, skinny little guy…

Naruto blinked slightly at the sight of such a sickly looking kid. He didn't seem all that interested in the flying car (which was funny, because everyone else was absolutely loving it) but instead was heading off to the army recruitment. Was he trying to get himself killed? A big bang as the flying car hit the ground and Stark was looking at the crowd sheepishly. "Well, I did say a couple of years didn't I?" Stark shot an accusing look at Naruto who put his hands up in defence.

"I didn't do anything," he said placidly before gesturing to a food stand. "I'm grabbing some popcorn. You want some?" Stark pulled a face and Naruto rolled his eyes, slipping his knife back into the pocket on his thigh. "Alright then." He grabbed snagged some popcorn by charming the lady running the stall before heading over to the recruitment tent. He didn't know why but he was curious. His gut said that kid was important. Naruto wanted to know why.

* * *

Steve Rogers. That was the kid's name. Naruto knew now why he had that feeling in his gut. He was the one for the super serum that Erskine was making with Stark's help. He just knew it. "Oi Red!" Stark's voice came with a huff as he walked up to him. "Where did you go for so long?"

Naruto gestured to the tent. "I found the perfect person for the super serum you genii are working on. Steve Rogers. Doesn't look like much but my ninja-senses are tingling." Stark rolled his eyes at the last comment, thinking Naruto was joking about his 'ninja-sense'.

"What makes you think that?" Stark asked him as they headed back to the lab.

"He doesn't look like much, as I said, but you've got to look underneath the underneath," Naruto said wisely. Stark looked thoughtful. He usually ended up taking Naruto's advice which was smart seeing as Naruto was hundreds of years old. Not that Stark knew that of course.

"I'll bring it up with Abraham," Stark said at last. "We'll see what he thinks. If he agrees and this doesn't work it's your fault okay?"

Naruto sighed deeply. "I know." But somehow, Naruto knew it was the right thing. Phillips was not amused in the private meeting later on.

"You're putting a kid who not only has asthma but at least ten other problems as well in my camp Erskine," he growled. "All because Stark's bodyguard had a _feeling _he was the right one." Naruto crossed his arms, unfazed by the director. Seriously what was he going to do? He had Stark on his side. He was practically untouchable. Sometimes Naruto loved his luck.

"He is the right one," Erskine said his German accent heavily on his words. "I also spotted it. He is a good man at heart and therefore will make a good supersoldier."

"When Red says something, I take his advice," Stark said seriously. "He's insanely lucky with his gut feelings. Going against it is like swimming upstream. Not worth the effort."

"Thanks for the comparison Stark," Naruto said dryly and Stark grinned. Phillips was looking annoyed they were all ganging up on him.

"What do you see in the kid?" he demanded. "All I see is a skinny kid with big words and nothing to put behind them."

Red leaned forward, allowing some of his killing intent to shroud Phillips, making the man stiffen and sit up straight. "You may not have noticed the bruises on him from the fights he's been in but I did. His beliefs are nothing to be laughed at. I hate bullies too." Then he smirked foxily. "Give him the super serum and I know he'll act on his words."

Phillips hadn't wanted to do it, but he gave in finally, grumbling about 'supposed genii' and their 'bodyguards'. They met up with Peggy Carter, an acquaintance of Stark. She greeted him warmly with an embrace – the two of them got on well, mostly because he didn't doubt her abilities just because she was a woman. He would never understand why people thought that. To him, woman were five times scarier than any men he'd ever met. See Sakura, Tsunade and Anko for examples.

Stark pouted at the fact that Peggy didn't give Stark the same benefit. "Naruto," Peggy said amiably, "Welcome to the recruitment camp. Are you planning on joining the army?"

Naruto snorted. "Hell no. I'm a Nomad. I can't attach myself to a country."

"Yet you do a fairly good job of attaching yourself to the people _in _the country," Stark muttered and Naruto punched him _very _lightly on the shoulder.

"Ow!" Stark complained and Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"Oops. Not as lightly as I thought. Sorry Stark."

Stark rubbed his shoulder. "I can appreciate that. I still have a bruise from when you ran into me."

Naruto winced. "Sorry about that."

"You should be."

"Can you drive Naruto?" Peggy asked.

"Of course," Naruto answered politely. "Would you like me to drive you to the camp?"

"That would be helpful," Peggy admitted.

"I have to go work at the lab anyway Red," Stark said, clapping Naruto on the shoulder.

Naruto pulled the cap on his head on tighter. "Roger that Stark. You want me to get you something on the way back?"

"Some scotch would be good," Stark mumbled as he turned around and walked away from the car.

Peggy and Naruto climbed in the front of the car getting ready for the long drive out there. "Peggy there is someone I want you to watch closer than the others at the camp," Naruto started as they drove out of town.

"Oh?" Peggy said, interested. After all, it wasn't every day that you heard Naruto request something.

"Steve Rogers," Naruto said, keeping his eyes forward on the road. "He reminds me…of myself really. He's going to do some stupid things and doesn't look like much but trust me when I say he will surprise you." Peggy was silent and he felt her eyes on his back.

"Was your hair always red?" she asked suddenly.

He jumped. "What?" he asked, a bit surprised by the turn of the conversation.

"Was your hair always red?" she repeated.

Naruto blinked several times before answering. "No. It used to be blonde."

"And your eyes," she continued. "Your eyes a different than they were before too right?"

Mentioned eyes narrowed slightly. "What are you getting at Peggy?" he growled in an animalistic way.

Peggy blinked but otherwise did nothing. "So you had blonde hair and blue eyes. Why did you change it?"

Naruto grinned forlornly his eyes darkening. "Let's just say a friend decided to forget to mention some side effects to the cure he used on me." Peggy wisely stayed silent, not going further into the conversation with his dark tone. This wasn't really a topic Naruto wanted to discuss his looks he was quite touchy about. He couldn't change his eyes and holding a henge on his ears for so long was very tiring, despite his large amount of chakra. Not to mention each time he used chakra it made his time in the world rapidly decrease.

"What does Steve look like?" Peggy asked interestedly.

"Blonde hair, blues eyes, short…" he trailed off at her knowing smirk. "It's not just because he looks like me!" Naruto protested. "He looks nothing like I did really. He's gangly. I was a runt," Naruto said bitterly.

"You know you would be perfect for the army," Peggy continued, making Naruto struggle not to roll his eyes.

"Look. I'll tell you what. If I can, I'll help out. But I'm not going to be a soldier to anyone. I don't follow orders."

"Not even Howard Stark's?" Peggy said, surprised.

"Not even Stark's," Naruto promised before pulling over. Peggy climbed out and began to address the men who were going to become the new supersoldiers.

"Gentlemen," Peggy began, the picture of a perfect soldier. "I'm Agent Carter. I supervise all operations of this division." A tall bloke grinned and Naruto winced, recognising that grin from one that he had worn when he was younger.

"What's with the accent Queen Victoria? Thought I was signing up for the _U.S _Army." Naruto snorted quietly and Peggy rolled her eyes slightly.

"What's your name soldier?" she asked politely.

"Gilmore Hodge, your Majesty," Hodge said with a large grin.

"Step forward, Hodge."

"Don't do it," Naruto whispered and Steve looked up at the noise. Naruto winked at him leaving the blonde confused. And then, Peggy punched Hodge in the face. Naruto winced theatrically before looking to the right as Phillips appeared around the corner.

Naruto got a grunt for a greeting. He waved back merrily. "General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons but they are won by men," the Colonel began. "We are going to win this war because we have the best men." He paused and looked at Steve before throwing an incredulous look back at Naruto and Erskine who came to stand next to him. "And because they're gonna get better. Much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man. At the end of this week we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldiers. And they, will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of Hell."

Naruto leaned against the back of the chair, as he spoke to Erskine. "He's going to try and get you to pick Hodge," he whispered. Erskine raised an eyebrow.

"The big large one?" The German scientist said incredulously. "He is the worst candidate here."

Naruto shrugged. "No need to tell me Doc." He ran a hand across the language collar around his neck.

"I hear you loud and clear." Erskine looked at the collar with interest.

"I do not recognise what that is made of," Erskine said. Naruto tapped it lightly and it hummed beneath his hand.

"No clue. All I know is I can't get it off. Colonel Phillips," Naruto greeted as the man stalked back to them.

"I don't know what the hell you two were thinking, bringing that skinny little kid here," he growled. "He's probably not going to survive this camp, let alone the war."

Naruto held his hands up pacifyingly. "Hey, Phillips, easy there. Tell you what. I'll stay at the camp and give him a few tips. If he doesn't go up to my standards, I'll declare myself wrong and even join the U.S Army as a soldier. But if I am right and he becomes a super soldier…" Naruto trailed off, humming thoughtfully. "If that's what happens, you have to refer to me as Master Naruto oh and I've got a free reign on going wherever I want."

Phillips snorted at the absurdity. "Alright. I'll gain myself a good soldier than. You'll be doing training with the rest of those soldiers though. Go have fun talking with your standard boy." And with that, the old man left. Naruto rolled his eyes over to look at Peggy who was wearing a disapproving look on her face.

"You shouldn't act like that to the Colonel," she said, crossing her arms. "You're not untouchable you know."

Naruto jumped out of the car and landed with a perfect flip behind Peggy, drawing a knife so that it rested on her neck. She stiffened. "I'm an assassin remember Peggy," he murmured softly. "I'm as untouchable as your shadow." He removed the knife and she spun around gun aimed at where his head would've been. But he'd moved so he was behind her again, leaning against the car. "Is that all Agent Carter?" he asked politely and she jumped at the sound of his voice behind her.

"That's all," she said, a bit unsteadily and he smiled kindly at her before walking over to the soldier's tent, hands in pockets. He entered to see everyone was rowdy except for Steve who was pulling out some books.

They snapped to attention when he entered and he rolled his eyes. "At ease soldiers," he said lazily, waving a hand dismissively. He gestured down at his casual clothing. "Does it look like I'm someone in the army?"

"Then what're you doing here?" Hodge said, sizing Naruto up. Naruto was slightly taller but with the suit he was wearing on, you couldn't see his slim strong muscles. All Hodge would see was a good looking man who didn't seem like much of a challenge.

Naruto opened his arms wide in a welcoming gesture. "Welcoming you. Also, I have made a bet and will probably end up winning but if I lose I have to join the army," he said, sighing disappointedly.

"You don't wanna join the army?" a boy with glasses piped up curiously.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Does it look like I do?"

"What about protecting your country?" Steve demanded bravely, standing up.

Naruto smiled at him reassuringly. "I would protect my country, if I had one. I'm a Nomad." The looks on their faces were of dawning realisation but Hodge just flexed his muscles.

"Well if you're entering the army I'm going to have to give you the usual greeting for the little guys." He wound back his hand and pushed it forward. Naruto marvelled how slow it was, watching it with fascination. He took a step forward and ducked under the outstretched arm, grabbing it and pulling it downwards gently. He used his right leg to sweep under Hodge's leg as he stumbled from being pulled forward and he landed sprawled on the ground.

"Now, now," Naruto chided him. "There's no need to give me those pleasantries. I've had them too many times for me to count." The boys were all looking at him with a new light. Naruto smiled at Hodge pleasantly. "Please refrain from doing that to me or any of my acquaintances in the future. I do tend to get…protective of my precious people. I wouldn't want to accidently hurt you," he continued in the same polite tone.

"I do hope you aren't scaring them Naruto," Peggy's voice came around as she appeared at the front of the camp tent. Her lips were pressed into a firm line when she saw Hodge on the floor.

Naruto placed his hands up in surrender. "He attacked me first," he said innocently.

"You probably provoked him," Peggy said, sighing exasperatedly. "And you failed Stark. Because of your bet, Colonel Phillips is making you stay here. You can't go grocery shopping."

Naruto cursed. "Damn. I was meant to grab that scotch. Well, if you see him, tell him I drank it. It will piss him off." Peggy rolled her eyes before turning and walking out. Naruto's eyes wandered around until he saw the only left over bed was between Steve and the tall kids with glasses. He plopped down on it, ignoring the silence that followed.

Steve took this as something to introduce himself. "I'm Steve," he said, holding out his hand to shake. "Steve Rogers."

"Jordan," glasses said. "Jordan Cooper."

Naruto shook both of their hands at once. "Name's Naruto," he said with a small smile. "Naruto Suzaku."


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto sat in the darkness, wondering what to do with his boredom. He didn't need to sleep, eat or drink for that matter – he didn't even need to breathe. It was just habit. His covered ears twitched at the sound of shifting fabric to his right. The heartbeat was fast still, it had been for the past while. "Can't get to sleep Steve?" he asked quietly, making Steve jump slightly.

"How did you know I was awake?" he whispered back, sitting up slightly if the sound of the creaking mattress was anything to go by.

Naruto kept his eyes closed, seeing as they glowed like cat's eyes in the dark. "My ninja senses," he said jokingly before smiling slightly. "No. I could just hear your breathing. You breathe slower when you are asleep Steve. You haven't fallen asleep all night. What is on your mind?"

"My best friend Bucky," Steve said quietly. "He's on the front line. What if he…" Naruto pursed his lips as Steve faltered.

"A lot of good men die in war Steve," Naruto murmured softly. "A lot more than many think. Each of them has someone special to them somewhere in their life who will feel pain with losing them. But trust me when I say that no matter what happens to your friend, he will continue to keep living so long as you have faith in his abilities, even if that means living through you."

Steve was quiet before a quiet, "Thank you," was mumbled.

"Go to sleep Steve," Naruto continued softly, opening his eyes slightly so that Steve could just see his glowing blue irises. "You will need your strength for tomorrow." Thankfully, Steve took his advice.

* * *

"Take your time Steve," Naruto said as he sat on the top of the web rope, dangling his feet over the edge. Steve was panting as he tried to climb up the top, failing badly.

"Come on Monkey boy," Hodge taunted. "You too tired to carry on?"

"No I just prefer the view," Naruto said as he lounged, ignoring Hodge's attempt to get him to fight. He was a sore loser that boy. "That's it Steve," he encouraged as the boy climbed. Steve had a determined look on his face through his sweat but his hand slipped and he just stopped himself from falling down by catching himself with his legs.

Naruto sweat dropped. "Good try." He swung his legs over and helped the boy back up.

"Get back in the game soldier!" Phillips roared as he spotted Naruto. "No dillydallying!"

Naruto rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored him talking to Steve. "Okay see here. You've got to use the strength in your legs instead of your arms. See?" As Steve was doing following his example, Naruto felt a gaze on his back and looked up to see Erskine looking at him curiously. Naruto raised an eyebrow before shrugging and catching Steve before he fell head over heels off and broke his neck.

* * *

Naruto stared at the gun before back at Phillips. "No," he said simply. "I'm not using it."

The Colonel glared. "Listen soldier, you can use this or you can do fifty press ups. Choose one."

Naruto looked at him before back at the gun before dropping to the ground and beginning. Phillips muttered obscenities before passing a gun to the curious Steve. "Why aren't you using the gun?" he asked as he gestured to the unused weapon.

"Too loud," he answered simply. "I prefer knives."

"Knives aren't going to be good enough in a war," Hodge pointed out arrogantly. Naruto rose an eyebrow before pulling out a knife and looking at the targets they were shooting.

He flicked his wrist and it embedded itself in the head. "Seems good enough for me," he said innocently and Steve coughed to cover his laugh.

* * *

"Crawl, crawl, crawl!" Peggy ordered. "Come on ladies! Get to it!"

Naruto just looked at the ground with distaste. "I'll ruin my clothes," he complained.

Peggy's lips twitched in amusement but she tried to frown. "That's your problem for refusing to use the uniform, soldier. Now get to the ground!"

Naruto let out a dramatic sigh before dropping to the ground. Peggy blinked suddenly as she spotted his bare feet. "Where are your shoes?"

"I don't wear shoes," Naruto reminded her. "They are far too uncomfortable." Peggy sighed before waving her hand and making him crawl through the mud.

"You like being difficult don't you?" Jordan said with a roll of his eyes as Naruto joined them.

"Of course," Naruto said with a look of 'are you serious' on his face. "What's life like if you always follow the rules? A good soldier is well and good but they should never forget who they are inside." Steve next to him blinked several times at this but he didn't get a chance to speak before Peggy ordered them to do star jumps. Naruto's covered fox ears twitched as he picked up a conversation.

"Stick a needle in that kids arm and it's gonna go right through him."

"I am looking for qualities beyond the physical."  
"Do you know how long it took to set up this project?"  
"Yes, I know."

"And all the grovelling I had to do in front of senator what's his name."  
"I know. I am well aware of your efforts."  
"Then throw me a bone. Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast, he obeys orders. He's a soldier. I would tell Suzaku to do it if it weren't for the fact he's an insufferable man who doesn't listen to a thing I say."  
"Hodge is a bully. And Suzaku is a good candidate but I doubt he would agree. Which is why I have chosen Rogers."  
"Bully? You don't win games by niceness. You win it with guts."

There was a pause before something was thrown down at them.

"Grenade!"

Naruto watched as the small metal object landed near him. He tilted his head to the side as everyone else jumped away, Jordan dragging him with him. Steve ran and threw himself on the ground, curling up over the grenade yelling at people to stay back. As the seconds passed Naruto rolled his eyes. "It's a dummy grenade people." Steve slowly unravelled and Naruto dragged Jordan to his feet before bounding over to Steve.

Peggy was walking over as well, looking at Naruto. "Stupid things?" she repeated and Naruto smiled knowingly as he helped Steve to his feet.

* * *

"Red!" Stark's voice came to him. Naruto waved a hand in greeting from the place he was lounging. "I can't believe you drank all my scotch! Maria and I were going to do some celebrating," Stark said as his face appeared in view, moustache twitching with amusement. "At least, that was what I would say if you actually drunk alcohol." Howard looked at him curiously before asking, "What were you thinking, putting yourself up for the army like you did? You know there is only a small chance it will actually work on the kid. I know I said I trust your judgement but your gambling ways are starting to worry me."

Naruto could actually hear _true _worry in his voice and his stomach clenched. His tattoo was so far not even glowing but he knew he would end up leaving soon. He only hoped that he could leave without hurting anyone. Naruto blinked as a hand was waved in front of his head. "Howard," Naruto said softly. "You know as a nomad I will end up leaving one day." Stark froze at the use of his first name before processing what he said.

"You aren't staying permanently?" he asked slowly. "I mean, it's not just money is it? Or are there some people after you or something?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. I have to go. It will probably be the last time you'll ever see me when I leave. When I leave I tend to disappear of the face of the earth." He smiled dryly at how true that was.

"You'll keep in touch though?" Stark continued confidently.

Naruto looked away, over at the camp. "You won't be able to contact me or I you, wherever I end up. Believe me when I say it won't be from lack of trying." He sighed and looked down at his left arm. "Look, I'll give you as much warning as I get Howard. Just please, believe me when I say I truly do enjoy my time with you." He got to his feet and rubbed his arm. "Come on Howard. Let's go to the lab. Procedure starts in a few hours. We've got to drive back."

* * *

"Hey buddy," Naruto greeted as he walked next to Howard into the lab. Steve blinked in surprise.

"Naruto? What're you doing here?"

"He's my bodyguard," Howard answered as he looked over the switches making sure everything was right. "He sucks by the way. Couldn't hurt a fly."

Naruto rolled his eyes at Steve's incredulous look. "He's kidding. I'm neither his bodyguard nor harmless. Just a friendly nomad."

"You shouldn't be in here," Erskine said with a sigh. "Phillips will have my head for even allowing you to know of this place's existence."

Naruto shrugged and flipped a couple switches that Howard hadn't got around to doing yet. "I'm sure it will be fine. Microphone?" Erskine took the proffered mic with a sigh before he began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace. We begin with a series of micro injections into the subjects major muscle groups. The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change. And then to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with vita rays."

A nurse brushed past Naruto to inject Steve with a numbing agent. He winced. "That wasn't so bad," he admitted.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "That was penicillin kid." He went forward and flipped a switch at Howard's nod, making the bed Steve was on tilt upwards and lock in place.

"Steven can you hear me?" Erskine asked as he tapped on the front window.

"It's probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?" Steve's voice came, muffled slightly from being inside capsule.

Naruto chuckled lightly. "I think that time was a long time ago Rogers."

"Begin the procedure Mr Stark," Erskine ordered.

"Righty-o," Howard mumbled as he slid down his glasses and began turning the wheel of power. "Ten percent." Naruto's eyes quickly adjusted to the brightening light as he stared at the glowing capsule. "Thirty percent," Howard yelled loudly. "Fourty…Fifty…Sixty…Seven-" The last number was cut off as Steve's scream sounded.

Naruto clenched his fists on board as it pierced through the air. Howard jumped when the side board cracked beneath his hands, leaving indents of where his fingers were. Peggy ran out, a frightened look on her face. "Shut it down!" Peggy yelled at Erskine.

The scientist was knocking frantically on the window. "Steven!" he called in distress.

"Shut it down!" Peggy repeated and Erskine seemed to hear her this time, turning around with a determined expression on his face.

"Kill the reactor, Mr Stark! Kill the reactor!" Howard reached for the wheel but Naruto held a hand out, staring at the capsule. Howard blinked as he blocked the road and tried to get past. "Mr Suzaku!" Erskine yelled. "What are you doing!? SHUT IT DOWN STARK!"

"NO!" Steve's cry penetrated their conversation. "DON'T! I CAN DO THIS!"

Howard looked at Naruto as he calmly stepped to the side, his face devoid of all emotion. Inside Naruto was practically jumping up in down with tension. This reminded him a lot of his fusion with the Kyuubi. It was far too close to comfort. Howard glanced at Naruto again before turning the wheel to full power. "One hundred percent!"

The light shined brightly and Howard's eyes widened as he caught sight of Naruto's eyes flashing gold momentarily before going back to their usual blue. Naruto hissed slightly as his left arm heated up. He clutched his arm in pain before glancing up as the procedure finished.

"Open it Mr Stark," Erskine said tiredly and Howard blinked slightly before doing so and it opened to reveal a buff Steve Rogers.

Naruto and Howard aided him out of the capsule. "My God you've done it," Howard said as he marvelled the new Steve.

"Nice and easy Steve," Naruto said soothingly. "You've had a big day. You need some rest and get used to your new form, trust me."

"You sound like you have experience," Steve mumbled as he staggered forward.

Naruto smiled darkly. "Trust me. I have more experience than you think."

The people from the top box came down to get a closer look at the new Steve. Naruto stepped back to give them room as he leaned against the cracked sideboard, clutching his left arm tightly. He blinked when Howard suddenly appeared right in front of him and began peering at his eyes closely.

"They were gold before," he muttered and Naruto put in on a poker face as he cursed inwardly. "And you broke the dashboard with your bare hands," Howard continued. He looked up at Naruto, straight in the eyes. "You aren't human are you?" Naruto didn't get a chance to answer the genius as a bomb just happened to go off.

He winced slightly as the loud noise hit his ears and pressed down on his hat to muffle the noise slightly. Sometimes he wished his hearing wasn't so sensitive. While he was still recovering from the unexpected explosion three bangs were heard. Naruto felt something collide with his head and felt himself lose consciousness.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he got back to his feet, rubbing his forehead. Howard was standing over him, back to him, holding something in his hands. "You know, not only did you survive a bullet to the skull," Howard muttered as he flicked the flattened bullet away. "But you did it without injury. You don't even have a bruise."

Naruto scoffed slightly at the thought of having a bruise from a mere bullet. "Of course, that made me wonder if I really saw you get hit by the bullet at all but I've always been right before," Howard continued as he spun around, an unimpressed look on his face. "So what are you, an alien? Because I really don't think we'll stand a chance against guys like you." Naruto rolled his eyes at the alien comment. He pulled off his hat revealing the twitching fox ears.

Howard blinked at the sight. "Half-demon," Naruto said with a wry smile. "Also the heir of Death. Yes that's right. I'll be taking over his job one day." Howard leaned closer and softly touched Naruto's ears. They twitched at the touch and Naruto scowled slightly.

"My God they're real," Howard breathed. "And your eyes, they're like that because of your demon blood right?"

"Yes," Naruto confirmed. "As well as my strength and why I don't wear shoes. My feet are too sensitive."

"So demons actually exist?" Howard said in wonder.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know if they do in this world but in my world they do."

Howard frowned at that. "Wait, so you are an alien? How come you speak English?"

Naruto hesitated before shrugging. "What the hell," he muttered before pulling up his left sleeve revealing the glowing Phoenix tattoo.

"Oh my God…" Howard said as he touched it and his eyes lit up as he felt the hum of power beneath it.

"This is my clock," Naruto said dryly. "Once all the stones light up I travel to a different dimension, or time, or world. It changes. So far I've managed to control myself enough to stay on Earth for a while but I always end up coming to alternate universes of it. The last time I had a friend who could travel through a well and back five hundred years."

Howard just stared at him incredulously. "So this is the first time we've met?"

"Yes," Naruto confirmed. "There was no such thing as Stark Industries in any other time I've come. I believe there was one called Oscorp once but I don't really pay attention to companies that much."

Howard looked at him in shock. "Wow," he muttered. "A place where I don't exist…" Then he sat up suddenly. "Hang on you said through _time_?" Howard said, eyes alight.

"Only forward in time," Naruto said with a small smile. "I can't go backwards." Howard however, didn't look disappointed.

"You could jump forward in time and meet me in the future! That way I don't have to lose a friend," Howard said, pleased with himself for coming up with the idea. Naruto was touched that Howard thought of him as a friend before his face turned thoughtful as he thought about what Howard said.

"It's possible," he admitted. "Though it would be terribly hard. I only get a few seconds of warning sometimes before I'm off to my next 'vacation'. I still haven't even managed to get back to my home world yet." Howard blinked as he realised how alone Naruto must feel.

"So how many years have we got?" Howard asked.

"No clue," Naruto said with a shrug. "It's random. One of the reasons I try not to get too close to people," Naruto said softly. "But I think I should have a six years at most."

"That's ages," Howard said confidently.

Naruto smiled wryly. "I'm over five hundred years old Howard. It's not as long as you think."

Howard blinked. "You're immortal too?" Naruto nodded.

Howard shrugged. "Eh. Might as well be ultimate. I'll need a bit of your blood to analyse your problem." Howard pulled out a long needle and attempted to jab it into Naruto's arm. It bent. "Huh, you'd think I'd realise that after the bullet," Howard said thoughtfully before he looked at Naruto for guidance.

Naruto sighed. "Get me a bottle." Soon Howard had a full bottle of blood to analyse.

He held it up curiously. "Huh, you have red blood," he said curiously.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "What did you expect, green?"

"Well no. And did you have to bite your tongue? What if you choke and die?"

Naruto stared at him dully. "Howard. Immortal means you can't die. I don't even _need _to breathe."

"I guess that makes sense," Howard admitted as he stored the vial in his pocket. "Now there is one question you haven't answered."

Naruto blinked. "What one?"

"How you can speak English." Naruto tapped the collar around his neck.

Howard looked at it incredulously. "Really? A _collar_?"

Naruto shrugged. "Eh. I didn't make it. Tell Death that it's weird."

Howard shook his head and they got to their feet. "Who else was shot?" Naruto asked as they walked.

"Well, Steve and Doctor Erskine were shot by the undercover HYDRA agent but Steve is fine because of the super serum. Abraham…he wasn't so lucky." Howard looked down.

"Sorry Howard," Naruto said comfortingly.

Howard sighed. "Yeah well, its war right? Anyway, we lost all of the super serum except what's in Steve's blood. Personally, I think it's better not to have anymore supersoldiers. No one can keep them inline. Well, except you I suppose," Howard tacked on the end and Naruto rolled his eyes.

They entered a room to see Steve was donating his blood. "I've got to go back and Analyse the Hydra pod," Howard said as he disappeared, sending a warning glance at Naruto.

The Hanyou huffed in annoyance. He wasn't going to run away just because Howard had figured out he wasn't human. "Hey Steve, Peggy," Naruto greeted as he stepped in the room.

"Naruto!" Peggy cried, obviously relieved. She started checking his him for any sign of bullet holes.

Naruto brushed her off. "I'm fine Peggy," he reassured her before turning to Steve. "So Steve," he said as he plopped down beside the blonde, amused to find he was still taller. "What're you going to do now?" Steve looked startled by this sudden question.

"Fight in the war of course," Steve answered, as if it were obvious. Naruto was suddenly in his face, pulling back his eyelids and looking inside his mouth.

"Wah ah eu oing?" Steve asked as his mouth was held open. Naruto nodded his head and let Steve close his mouth. He flexed his jaw, eyeing Naruto warily.

"You took my advice and stayed yourself, not the perfect soldier," Naruto said confidently.

Steve gaped. "You can tell that by looking in my mouth?"

"Underneath the underneath," Naruto said wisely to the confusion of the others before getting to his feet. "Right. Nurse, you take any more blood and he's going to fall over. Come one Peggy, Steve, let's go see if Howard's found out anything about that submarine."

* * *

"Hydra is the Nazi deep science division. It's led by Johann Schmidt. But he has much bigger ambitions," Peggy began to explain. Naruto wondered what the hell anyone would want to follow a scientist in the middle of a war. But then he realised that Orochimaru had done the same thing and face palmed at his stupidity. Thankfully, no one noticed.  
"Hydra's practically a cult. They worship Schmidt, they think he's invincible," Phillips growled.  
"So what are you gonna do about it?" The Senator asked.  
"Spoke to the president this morning. As of today the SSR is being re-tasked," Phillips began.  
"Colonel?" Peggy asked with a slight frown.  
"We are taking the fight to Hydra. Pack your bags Agent Carter. You too, Stark. You're flying to London tonight." He turned and spotted Naruto leaning against the wall. "And you too if you want…Master Naruto," he said reluctantly. Naruto snickered slightly but nodded his head. "Sir, if you're going after Schmidt, I want in," Steve said confidently.  
"You're an experiment. You're going to Alamogordo," Phillips said resolutely.  
"The serum worked," Steve argued.  
"I asked for an army and all I got was you. You are not enough," Phillips said before he stalked off.

Howard winced. "Harsh," he mumbled to Naruto who raised an eyebrow.

"I do not understand the Colonel's reasoning," Naruto said with a frown. "A war is started by one man and can be won by one man," he murmured quietly. His eyes scanned the area constantly and Howard picked up on this.

"What jobs have you had in your past lives?" Howard asked quietly. Naruto snorted at the 'lives' comment. "Many. I'm an assassin, a Captain, a technician, a plumber, a doctor, a priest, a monk, a bartender, a waiter, a cook, a guard, a police captain, a pilot, a musician, a taxi-driver… the list goes on and on. But the one I think of as my _real _job is a ninja, and being a nomad," Naruto added thoughtfully.

Howard's eyes had been lighting up with every new job. "You know, I could use an extra technician," he said happily before gaping.

"Wait, you _are _a ninja?" Naruto looked at him amusedly before disappearing from in front of Howard and reappearing behind him, knife up to his neck. "Holy Shit," Howard breathed as Naruto took the knife away. "Red…you've got to be one of the coolest men alive, behind me of course."

* * *

**I don't own CA or N. **

**Please review:)**


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